SECRETS to Online Meeting Mastery | 36 MUST-KNOW Phrases

Hi there, guys, this is Teacher  Harry here and welcome back to my  

English lessons where we try to help  you to get a better understanding  

of the use of the English language. So what are  we going to talk about today? Well, before we  

get on to the topic for today, let me just remind  you that you can listen to my podcast, lots of  

things to help you. Lots of useful information  to help you with the English language. And at the  

end of this particular lesson, I'll give you my  contact details. So what is it about today? Well,

in today's lesson, we're going to talk about  online meetings, in particular, must have phrases  

for online meetings. The whole world is changed  upside down, as you know, in the last two years  

and loves lots and lots of people are now working  remotely and lessons like the lessons that I give  

all remote or online. So when people are having  their online meetings using zoom, or Skype,  

or Google meets, or Microsoft Teams, whatever it  is, they're these are all online meetings that  

they're having day to day, week in, week out. And  sometimes non-native speakers have difficulty not  

with the business language, but some of the small  talk or the chit chat or the introductory phrases  

that you should use when you want to introduce a  topic or raise a topic or have a question whatever  

it might be. So this particular lesson is going  to focus on as I said, the must-have phrases and  

expressions for online meetings, and we're  going to break it down into different parts.

Okay, so the first part we're going to look at  is the start of the meeting the beginning of  

the meeting. So what I'm going to give you now  are just specific key phrases that you can use,  

some of them may be quite obvious, some of them  you might be using already, but they are very  

simple. And I always emphasise the simplicity of  the language that we want to use. In this way.  

Nobody can misunderstand what you want to say.  You remember it a lot easier if it's simple,  

okay. And it's easy to use. So let me give them  to you. So if you're in charge of the meeting,  

well, you'll just start by welcoming everyone.  Welcome, everyone. Today's meeting is about Okay,  

so you just tell them, It's a sales meeting.  It's a marketing meeting. It's a particular  

client complaint issue. It's a budget,  whatever it might be. Welcome, everyone.

Welcome to today's meeting. These are  the issues that we want to talk about.

This is our agenda. Or I sent you  the agenda before the meeting,  

so you should all have a copy of what's  on it. If you want to say something,  

then just interrupt as we go through this  particular meeting. So starts off with

Welcome, everyone. The purpose of today's  meeting is to complete the budget process or to  

sign off on the budget or agree on the marketing  strategy for the launch of a new product. Okay,  

so introduce the topic and what it's going to be  about. And perhaps you might even tell the people  

how long the meeting is going to take, you might  just say, Well, today's meeting is to discuss that  

the marketing the launch of the new product, the  meeting is going to last no more than one hour. So  

we're going to start at two, and we're going to  finish at three o'clock. So everybody will be  

out of here by three o'clock. So remember to look  into the camera of your particular screen so that  

people can see you, and you're engaging with them,  as I'm hopefully doing with you now. So welcome,  

everyone. Welcome to a Zoom meeting. The purpose  of today's meeting is to discuss the important  

launch of a new project, which is going to start  from the first of November, the meeting today is  

going to last no more than an hour. So hopefully  I'll have you out of this meeting. And offline  

by no later than 10 minutes after three  o'clock. Okay, simple, easy, easy to understand.  

Or you can start another way. Thanks, everyone  for attending. It's really good to talk to you.  

It's really good to see you. Today's meeting  is blah, blah. Okay, so just another way  

to introduce it. Or if you want to get straight  to the point, so people attend your you're  

logged into the meeting, you accept them into  the meeting. So when you look around the screen,  

it looks like you've got everybody, you can  just simply say, Okay, are we good to go?  

Meaning as everybody present? Is everybody ready  to start? So are we good to go? Meaning Are we  

good to get started? Or simply Okay, let's  get started, shall we? So it's a nice way  

to introduce it. Let's get started, shall we? I  think everybody is here. Anybody else is late.  

They can join in as we go along. Or in a little  bit more informal way. Okay, let's get this  

meeting started or let's kick off the meeting with  Okay, so let's kick off the meeting with a brief  

rundown of the last meeting. So you might have  a summary of what was agreed, so that everybody  

knows the starting position. So let's kick off the  meeting. Now, we don't want to hold anybody up,  

we have to finish by three o'clock. So it's good  if we can get the meeting started straight away.

And in keeping with that sort of football type  theme, and let's, let's kick off the meeting,  

we can also say, let's get the ball rolling with,  okay, a ball rolling when the ball rolls and means  

something has started because when the football  game starts, one player kicks the ball to another  

player. And that's the first movement in  the game. So when we talk about a meeting,  

and we're using that sort of metaphor in relation  to football, let's get the ball rolling. Let's  

get the meeting started. Okay, so let's get the  meeting started. Or let's get the ball rolling  

with a rundown of today's agenda. So you go down  quickly, the three of the four the five points you  

want to cover, and then you go back and start with  points. Or we can be very, very specific and say,  

Okay, today, we're going to get started with so  you introduce the first point, immediately today,  

we're going to get started with budgets. Today,  we're going to get started with the annual report.

Today, we're going to get started with that  complaint we had that we didn't really satisfy the  

customer last week, whatever it happens to be very  specific. And you tell the people exactly what,  

how. And when you're going to  start that particular meeting,

when we have online meetings, where interfacing  with the customer, or interfacing with our  

colleagues, or interfacing with the client,  through a camera, and online on the screen, so  

sometimes it can be a good idea just to tell the  person what you're doing. So when I'm starting  

a lesson, I often say to the student, okay, can  I share my screen with you? So I might say that  

because I've got a book or some exercises or some  work that I want to share with you, the students.  

So I just simply say, Okay, I'm going to share  my screen with you now, is that, okay? So you  

get their permission to do it. So if you've got  a bigger meeting with six or seven or 10 people,  

then you're going to tell them, right, you're,  you're going to see my screen and on the screen,  

you're going to see the agenda or the minutes  of the meeting, whatever it might be. So you  

give them advanced notice of what's going to  appear on the screen. And then you ask them,

Can you see my screen? Can you see it?  Clearly? Can you see what I'm showing you?

Do you want me to make it bigger? Yeah,  so you might have to enlarge it because  

the print size might be a little  bit small for some people to read,  

if they're not accessing it  through a laptop or a big screen,

I'm going to put up my presentation now. Okay,  so that's the next step is so they can see your  

screen. And when you click on the next thing,  that's the is the presentation. So it might be  

it might be a PDF document, it  might be a PowerPoint presentation,  

it might be some other way that you have to  put the presentation together, or it might  

simply just be a Word document. So whatever it  is, it is going to give them advance notice as  

to what they're going to see on the screen.  So by doing that, they know what to expect.

So in case they cannot see it, they can say well,  sorry, I don't see it, or I don't see it yet. Or  

there's something wrong or the screen is blank  or whatever here. So the screen is frozen, for  

example. So they can come back to you and tell you  their experiences from their side of the screen.  

So can you see my screen? And when doing that you  say I'm going to share my screen with you. Now,  

I'm going to share my document with you now, I'm  going to put up the presentation, I'm going to  

share the PowerPoint presentation. If you've got  any comments, you can put them in the chat line,  

wherever or whatever way you have of dealing  with Q and A's questions and answers.

Okay, so let's move on to the next part. Often  when we have online presentations or meetings,  

there can be more than one or two people there.  So if there are quite a number of people,  

it really got to control it quite well.  And in some cases, people might want to  

ask questions and in other cases, you might want  people to speak up a little bit or you want them  

to be more emphatic. So you've got to give certain  signals. So these next expressions and phrases  

would be for those particular situations. Could  you speak more slowly, please? So somebody is...  

And I often get requested by people to slow down  a little bit. So could you speak more slowly so  

that everybody can understand because if it's  an international call, and you've got some  

colleagues that are sitting in India, or Italy  or Poland or Portugal, no matter where they are,  

they may be all using English but they may have  different levels of English and therefore it's  

better if you can speak more slowly so that  everybody gets an opportunity to understand  

exactly what you're saying? Okay, so could you  speak more slowly, please? Nice, polite request.

Could you explain that again? Or

could you go through that again  because I didn't quite understand it?  

Could you repeat the last bit? Meaning the last  few sentences or the last slide? Could you repeat  

that last bit again? I wasn't quite sure. Perhaps  you could give me another example. Could you speak  

up, please? I didn't quite hear it. So if  you've got a question to ask or common to  

make or some observation, sorry, could you just  speak up a little bit, please? Yeah. Okay. I

got that. Yeah. Great. Thanks. Let me take that,  let me answer that. I didn't quite get that. Could  

you repeat it? I didn't quite get it or didn't  understand quite what you meant. Perhaps you could  

go through that again. Okay. So just polite ways  to ask people to repeat something, to speak up,  

to speak more slowly, to explain it in more  detail to go through some final points or the  

last bit that you covered so that everybody can  understand. Okay. Or somebody might say, Well, my,

my picture froze for a minute. I just missed  the last bit. You said? Could you repeat please,

I'm sorry to have to ask. So  you repeat the point again.

And of course, when we're doing online meetings,  there's always the potential or opportunity or  

desire for somebody to interrupt, we might  want to interrupt what somebody is saying,  

they might want to interrupt us with a  question and observation. So there are  

certain expressions and phrases that you should  use and you must have when you want to make those  

interruptions. So let me go through those. A  simple one is sorry, would you mind if I asked  

a question? And of course, the person hosting  the meeting and say, well, could you leave it  

to the end? Or why? Sure. Just put it into the  chat line? Or? Yeah, give me a question now. And  

perhaps it's a question that other people want  to ask as well. So there's a different way to  

deal with it? Or if you want some clarification,  or just to clarify what you're saying, is this  

what you meant. So you repeat in your words, what  you thought the point was, and the person hosting,  

the meeting will either agree or disagree or  give a further explanation. So you can say,

just to clarify, what you're saying is,  yeah, so you, you ask it in that way?  

Or, could I interrupt you for a  minute, so you want the opportunity  

to make a point to ask a  question, to clarify something?

Could I interrupt you for a minute?  Or could I interrupt you for a minute,  

please? Or would you mind if I interrupted  you for a minute? So either of those will be  

absolutely acceptable. So another  more informal way would be

Would you mind if I jumped in here?  Because I've got something to say  

I've got a point to make? Or would you mind if  I butted in? This is more American English. So  

jump in and butt in mean exactly the same.  Would you mind if I interrupted? So would  

you mind if I interrupted much more formal? Would  you mind if I jumped in here? Or butted in here?  

Much more informal. So I've got something  to say, Could I butt in, please. Or  

if I could jump in there because you know,  this point is very relevant is very important,  

it cuts across something that I'm doing. So you,  you lay out the reasons why you feel it necessary  

to jump in. Why you feel it necessary to butt  in or interrupt with some particular point.

Or can I stop you there quickly? for just a  minute? Yeah. So again, you're asking the speaker,  

if he could just hold while you make a point? Or  if he could just stop while you add something?  

Or ask a question or enlarge on something that  he has already said. So can I stop you there?  

Quickly? Can I stop you for a minute? Yeah. So  again, it's very polite, and it's very acceptable.

Or hold on a minute, please, just for a  minute. We don't seem to have discussed that in  

much detail. Could we go back over it because  I'm... I've got some questions. I'm sure other  

people have some questions as well. And then that  way, you involve the other people in the meeting,  

who might agree with you who want this explained  in a different way. So different ways in which you  

can interrupt and the expressions,  the phrases, the must-have words that  

you should use for your online meetings. Of  course, as we're online, then we've got the  

problems that everybody has with high the sound,  picture, interruption of connection, freezing,  

lagging all of these sorts of problems. So there  are certain words expressions that you need to  

have when this happens. I'm having problems  hearing you so you don't get the sound or somebody  

hasn't unmuted themselves or they haven't switched  on their video. Do you? Would you mind switching  

on your video? Would you mind unmuting it? Would  you, you know, speak up? Or there seems to be  

something with your headset. All of those can be  problems visual or with listening and hearing.

Finally, there might be sometimes  an echo yeah, there's a bit of a,  

you get the sound coming back to you, you

hear yourself. So that might be something to  do with somebody's headset or headphones or  

whatever way it may be. So you're  trying to just explain to somebody,  

the different types of interruptions you get.  So just be very clear what they are. So your  

pictures are frozen, there's an echo, I can't  see the picture. I don't hear you. So clearly,  

or my, my connection has broken  all of those types of things.

Okay, so let's move on then. So if we want to  actually talk about moving on in the meeting,  

so we can say, well, let's move on to  the next point. So you want the people  

clearly on the screens to know that you've  finished with point one or point two? And  

you're moving on? So somebody had a  question, somebody asked something,  

somebody added something else. So  you say, Okay, let's move on, or

it's time to move on. So let's  move on to the next item or

moving on. Let's talk about this. So  let's talk about that. So use those again,  

those exact words. Moving on, on, sometimes  you say moving on swiftly. Okay, guys,

there's a bit of a time issue here. So  I think we should move on. And if you've  

got any other points about this, come back  to me later, or come back to me, offline.

Let's pencil in another meeting for next  Wednesday. So you might run out of time. So  

you might say, Okay, let's  pencil in mean, let's write into  

a diary or make a diary entry or somebody  will send around an invitation electronically,  

that we'll have another meeting to pick up  on these points. Next Wednesday, same time.

Okay. So when we want to summarise because  often when we have a lengthy meeting,  

there are lots of points that have been made.  And it's no harm from time to time, during  

the meeting, to summarise, what have we  done so far? What have we covered so far,  

or at the very end of the meeting, you really want  to summarise the key points that have been made,  

the action points that you have, and more  importantly, who's going to take responsibility  

for each of those individual action points? So  here are some of the phrases that you might need.

In summary, we're going to do this, or let  me summarise by saying this. This is what  

I think we've agreed on. I think we can leave  it here for today. I think we've done enough.  

I think this is a good place to stop or  to end, we can pick up again the next  

day. But we've covered most of the key points  that we wanted to cover. Thank you very much.  

We can pick up this again tomorrow. And  I've made a note, I'll send you an email.  

And we'll start again same time and go through  the remaining points. So all very clear,  

very specific, so people know exactly what you've  done. You've got your agenda. So okay, we've  

finished point three, we'll pick up from point  four from tomorrow, or we finished the agenda.  

If anybody's got anything else to add. You can  either ask it now we've got a few minutes left,  

or get to me offline through email, and make sure  you clued or CC everybody else so everybody's kept  

up to date. Okay, so ways in which we can  summarise Okay, so it's really important.  

When we're talking about online meetings that  we do summarise, it's important that everybody  

knows where they are, particularly, we've got a  lot of people that are participating. If they're  

coming from many different countries, it's  really important. They know where you started,  

where you ended, what happened is at the end of  the meeting, is it going to continue another time,  

particularly if they've got a job to do? What  are you asking them to do? What has been agreed  

so that everybody knows what would happen next?  Okay, so, online meetings, online expressions,  

really good to know the language that you can  use. So hopefully, you've enjoyed that. As I  

said before, if you want to contact me, then  you can do so on www.englishlessonviaskype.com.  

I'm really happy to hear from you anytime  with some suggestions that you might have  

these words that we use today. I'm sure they'll  be of use to you, particularly in the modern  

world when lots and lots of meetings have moved  online to Zoom in everything else. And of course,  

if you want lessons on a one-to-one basis, or  for family members, or friends, or colleagues,  

it won't always be me that will be giving the  lesson. But we'll be delighted to hear from you.